Drop

Last November I had to go to Peshawar to take care of multiple tasks. I hesitated to go alone anywhere except for groceries to a nearby store. I would ask Lala (my elder brother), or my brother-in-law Bashir to accompany me whenever I needed a support of someone. One such errand was getting a tenant to vacate a home in Hayatabad.

I would ask my driver to take me to my brother’s home. I would phone him a day ahead telling him I would be needing him. Lala would be ready with a cane, and a bottle of water. He doesn’t really need a cane. The cane came in useful in another way. Lala would use it to shake it at unscrupulous drivers who drove dangerously.

On the way back I would remind the driver to drop Lala at his place first. Lala objected to the word drop. He would say, “You don’t drop me. I am not a sack of something. You leave me at my home”.